Sainz goes fastest as Mercedes impress in Silverstone Free Practice
After a rain-affected First Practice session in Silverstone, the teams were eager to get some laps and data under their belt in the dry conditions of FP2.
Unlike the general trend of Free Practice sessions this weekend, Red Bull struggled to find their rhythm, suffering from various issues and failing to complete significant long runs. Their fastest laps weren’t sensational either, with Sainz, Norris and Hamilton grabbing the headlines at the top of the timesheets.
FP2 CLASSIFICATION
1. Sainz
2. Hamilton
3. Norris #BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/22sWCoPk07— Formula 1 (@F1) July 1, 2022
Regardless, Red Bull and Ferrari will have time overnight to adjust their set-ups and fine-tune ahead of qualifying, though Mercedes certainly look dangerous.
Whilst the Austrian squad wasn’t able to complete many long runs, Ferrari put plenty of laps on the board, and they were met every step on the way by Mercedes, who set similar low 1:33 laptimes on the hard compound.
Lando Norris’ P3 time is encouraging, though McLaren’s pace is generally on par with that of Alfa Romeo in race simulations, and so this is likely not a true representation of their pace.
The midfield looked as close as ever, with the Alpines showing promising pace on the softs and looking to be legitimate contenders. Alex Albon was unable to string together many laps on the hard or medium tyre, but as he runs Williams’ drastically different sidepod concept, it will be intriguing to observe his progress.
Still, with the possibility of rain tomorrow, the teams will likely have to make do with their relatively limited data from this weekend.
